Apr 20, 2022 | Non categorizzato
The “Chiara Lubich” Home for the Elderly in the Peruvian Amazon is celebrating its first anniversary. The centre takes care of about fifty abandoned elderly people. “It is our contribution to peace”, say those who support them. 
Just when the Covid-19 crisis was at its worst, the “Chiara Lubich Centre for the Elderly” in the Peruvian Amazon jungle opened its doors on 8 March 2021– after many years the great dream had finally become a reality. “Right from the start, everything arrived as a gift with simplicity,” says Jenny López Arévalo, President of the Centre, “the house, the dishes, the ingredients for lunch for almost 50 elderly people, the chairs, tables, mattresses, sheets… To our surprise, each thing arrived and took its place”. The centre is located in Lámud, an Amazonian town in northwest Peru, 2,330 metres above sea level. A few kilometres away is the little town of Kuelap, an important pre-Inca archaeological site from the Chachapoyas culture. “Teamwork was really important. The volunteers really gave their all,” said Jenny López Arévalo, “There were difficulties but we managed to overcome them by concentrating on living well in the present moment. The months flew by and before we knew it we were celebrating our first anniversary. How exciting! We decided to organise a two-day event with a programme open to the public, involving local institutions, the press and social networks. It was a simple way to thank God and everyone. On the first day, we planned a walk in nature, outside the city, followed by games and dancing. We shared a delicious coffee with tamales (a corn-bashed dish) and sandwiches. We were surprised and excited to see how many people joined us, besides the volunteers – adults and children – to help look after the elderly. It was lovely to see our logo with Chiara Lubich’s face fluttering in the wind. The next day, we began with the Eucharist which was followed with a town festival full of colours, music and traditional dances, just after the national flag in honour of our country was raised by the elderly people. The day finished with a toast with the local authorities present and more traditional dances!” “Many friends from different parts of the world joined us in prayer,” said Javier Varela who acts as administrator for the Centre, “and much of the food we offered arrived as a gift. The elderly were so happy, they really enjoyed the day and, despite being a little tired, we shared their joy. We feel encouraged and strengthened to continue working to make our contribution to peace by taking care of the abandoned elderly who have already become part of our lives”. So one year on, the “Chiara Lubich Centre for the Elderly” is more than just a “Centre”. It is a real “family” that carries out this delicate and important work for the benefit of the least. It is a simple way of sowing seeds of peace every day right there where we live.
Gustavo E. Clariá
Apr 18, 2022 | Non categorizzato
Jesus is risen! And he entrusted to us to be witnesses of his living presence among us that would transform society. It’s an invitation to be bearers of the proclamation of the Good News in the environments where we live. Jesus told us that he would be present where two or more are united in his name?[1] Allowing the risen Lord to live in us and in our midst therefore is the secret, the most concrete way to bring about the kingdom of God. It is the kingdom of God in action. … These words are a mandate that Jesus left, not only for his apostles, but for the whole Church and for each one of us. The task of the Church is to witness to the risen Lord, not only by proclaiming him – as his ministers are called to do – but also and above all through the life of each of us who are its members. Witnessing to the Risen Lord means showing the world that Jesus is the living God, and this will be possible if the world sees that Jesus is alive in us. If we live his Word and reject the inclinations of our ‘old self’[2], and if, above all, we keep love for our neighbor alive in our hearts, then the risen Lord will live in us. If we make a special effort to maintain mutual love among us, the risen Lord will live in us and in our midst, and will radiate his light and grace around us, transforming our surroundings and producing incalculable fruits. It will be the risen Lord, through his Spirit, who will guide our steps and our activities. He will be the one who will arrange circumstances and provide us with opportunities to bring his life to those who need him. … We must not underestimate the projects for which we still have to plan, and the technological advances that are offering us new ways to proclaim the Gospel, but there is one thing above all that we must do: we must be his witnesses by allowing the Risen Lord to live in us.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in [Words of Life], Città Nuova,2017, pages 315/8 [1] See Mt 18:20. [2] See Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:9-10.
Apr 14, 2022 | Non categorizzato
Easter greetings from Margaret Karram, President of the Focolare Movement https://youtu.be/AYrr6xg1XmI 
Apr 12, 2022 | Non categorizzato
Since the beginning of the conflict in Ukraine, the Emergency Committee of the Focolare Movement has promoted a fundraising campaign to support the people affected.
In this video, Mira, a Slovenian focolarina who lives in Ukraine and works for Caritas-Spes, tells us what is happening, the actions we are carrying out and the aid we are providing, thanks to the contributions of all of you.
https://youtu.be/qLrk8JR78ms
To contribute to the fund of the Emergency Committee of the Focolare Movement, you can donate to the following:
Azione per un Mondo Unito ONLUS (AMU) IBAN: IT 58 S 05018 03200 000011204344 presso Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX
Azione per Famiglie Nuove ONLUS (AFN) IBAN: IT 92 J 05018 03200 000016978561 presso Banca Popolare Etica Codice SWIFT/BIC: ETICIT22XXX
Causes: Emergenza Ucraina
Apr 12, 2022 | Non categorizzato
The Rector of the Pontifical Lateran University (Rome) and professor of International Law, affirms that there is not and cannot be a ‘just’ war. Nothing can justify an armed conflict. Peace is something we must build individually and together. We must keep our hearts open to the whole world; not forget any conflict and act to make our contribution to peace at all levels. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsnUiPDPII8
Apr 11, 2022 | Non categorizzato
We are just beginning Holy Week and at its heart is Holy Thursday when we re-enact the moment when Jesus washed the feet of his apostles. He carried out this act of love putting himself in the last place. In the following text, Chiara Lubich draws us in to the essence of Christian love, which has to be lived in our practical way of behaving and which then generates reciprocity and peace. The unity, given by Christ, has to be constantly renewed and should be expressed concretely through our behavior which should be totally motivated by reciprocal love. This is the basis for the following suggestions about how to live our relationships with one another. Kindness: wanting the good of others. This means “making ourselves one” with them, approaching them being completely empty of ourselves, of our own interests, our own ideas, of the many preconceived notions that often cloud our vision. In this way we can take on ourselves their burdens, their needs, their sufferings, and we can share in their joys. It means entering into the hearts of the people we meet in order to understand their mentality, their culture and their traditions, so as to make these, in a certain sense, our own. In this way, we can really understand what they most need and we can discern in them the values God has placed in every person’s heart. In a word: kindness means to live for whoever is next to us. Mercy: welcoming others as they are, not as we would like them to be, for example, we would like them to have a different character, or to share our political views or our religious convictions, or not to have those faults and habits that annoy us so much. No, we need to enlarge our hearts and welcome everyone, with all their differences, their limitations and their problems. Forgiveness: always seeing the other person with new eyes. Even in the most beautiful and peaceful environments – in the family, at school or at work – there are inevitably moments of friction, differences of opinion, clashes. We might reach the point of totally avoiding someone or refusing to speak to them, not to mention actually nurturing an attitude of hatred towards those who don’t think as we do. Instead, we need to make a strong and determined decision to try to see each brother or sister every day as though they were new, completely new, with no memory of how they may have hurt us, covering over everything with love. We need to have an absolute amnesty in our hearts, imitating God who forgives and forgets. Furthermore, true peace and unity can be attained when kindness, mercy and forgiveness are lived not only by individuals, but together with others in a reciprocal relationship. Just as the embers in a fireplace need to be stirred up every now and then, to prevent them from being smothered by the ashes, so too from time to time it’s necessary to revive our mutual love intentionally, to revive our relationships with everyone, so that they won’t be smothered by the ashes of indifference, of apathy and of selfishness. These attitudes need to be put into practice in concrete ways. Jesus himself showed us what love is when he healed the sick and fed the crowds, when he brought the dead back to life and washed the feet of his apostles. Actions, concrete actions: this is what it means to love. We too can fill our days with concrete, humble and intelligent acts of service that express our love toward others. And we will see fraternity and peace spread around us.
Chiara Lubich
(Chiara Lubich, in Parole di Vita [Words of Life], Città Nuova 2017, pages 786/8
